UNC Camp: Big Names Facing Bigger Expectations

UNC Team Camp gave another opportunity to see some of the state's top prospects before the high school season arrives, and while the talent was obvious, what stood out most was how different the next challenge will be for this group. These are players who have already proven they can impact games, fill stat sheets, and help teams win. The question now isn't whether they can play, it's what happens when the spotlight gets even brighter. Several of these prospects are stepping into larger roles, taking on more responsibility, and becoming the players opposing teams will build scouting reports around. We saw flashes of that throughout the weekend in Greeley. The athleticism is there. The production is there. Now comes the adjustment of becoming the guy every night. Based on what we saw at UNC, these are five prospects carrying mountain-high expectations into the upcoming season and five players I'm fascinated to watch as their games continue to evolve.   Use code dev30 for 30% off and secure access as we're going through rankings and got you covered for the grassroots season. You don't want to miss any of our scouting.     Alexander is a young player who hasn't got a ton of varsity minutes, so everything you get from him right now is going to have to be a learning experience. With as much talent as they have around him, it is going to look very different for him, and this will be a year of taking everything in as a sponge, but also finding ways to be impactful and earn some minutes. At the UNC Camp, it was not the usual, best athlete on the floor Alexander that we see when he's playing against his age group, and he can't just get to where he wants on the floor and overpower players, so now it is about having a methodical approach and still using what he does have. Alexander is strong, moves well, and has size. So he should use that by being a pest defensively. Creek is balanced offensively with solid guard play and elite bigs, but still needs a wing defender who can defend multiple positions and attack when the ball comes to him. That's where Alexander will make his bread and butter. If he's able to lock in on that end of the floor and be a shutdown guy, that's how he's going to get the most out of his abilities. We saw those flashes at UNC camp; now it's about putting more of them in. Alexander was one of the top young standouts at the camp.     I've seen Egbuji a few times to start the Spring/Summer already, and I was wondering why he was spending so much time on the perimeter, and now seeing another game from him, it makes a bit more sense. He's going to have to find ways to score and not just work the high post on high/low action, and that's where that change is coming. Fossil Ridge has two bigs trying to feed off of each other, and he's also one of the better ball handlers on the team. Having him bring the ball up provided some spacing and allowed him to generate open looks for himself and teammates. He's shooting mid-range shots, attacking off the dribble, and getting to where he wanted. He continues to rise as one of my personal favorite players in this class due to his versatility, and they're going to have to be creative with how they use him. So guard play, coming off of screens, being on the block, he'll have a different look each time out.     Weatherspoon certainly had to work for his baskets this past weekend, as there is not so much attention on the other players who can light up an opposing team and win a game, and it was on him to be the captain and leader on the floor with a young and inexperienced bunch. He has his work cut out for him this year. But in that, this was probably the most that I have seen from Archie in the sense of putting together a complete game. He had to score by putting the ball on the floor; he had some iso work and a few and-1 finishes, and he was also continuing to make the right passes to open players and found ways for teammates to score as well. I like that Archie challenged himself this weekend on the defensive end. He was guarding the opposing team's best player. He faced up against a 6'9 big man and kept him off the glass and going off, and although he could've taken all of the shots, he also was unselfish and found open teammates for kick-outs. This year will be a year of growth for him personally, but gives him the ability to show that he can lead, defend, and read the game. Solid weekend for him and a look that we haven't seen.     Feddersen is a legit 6'9 (I measured) forward who can put the ball on the floor and get to his spots, who switches onto guards and can defend as he's very mobile, and also grabs the boards and starts the break. He was able to do whatever it is he wanted in his sophomore season as he was one of the best 2028s in the entire state, but this weekend it was a bit up and down. His shot was not falling as it typically does, and opposing teams looked ready to wall up and go all in on slowing him down and making others beat him. You could tell that was a bit of a shock for him as he attempted to force his way through it with tough shots and aggressive post-ups, but he was certainly rattled. He still had those moments where he took over and showed flashes of dominance, like when he finished with 27 points against a talented Cherry Creek squad, but he will have to get back to the basics. Boxing out, slowing down, and letting the game come to him, and reading where the double is coming. The last piece is getting more confident on the block as he has overwhelming size and excellent footwork, so he needs a bit more post touches, especially on mismatches, to not allow so many perimeter doubles. He will also have to start going quickly before teams set up for him, and you can tell that it was finally starting to click for him as the tourney progressed. It will be a bit of a renaissance for him as he will have to adapt his game and be better than a season ago, as he has all of the physical tools and skill to take his game to another level. This was a wake-up call weekend for him, in my opinion, just in the sense of how to still be his same effective self with game plans against top competition with fatigue kicking in. At the Elite camp, he looked like his usual self. He was athletic with soaring dunks, one of the more skilled bigs in the ball-handling portion, and hitting the 3-ball. I still believe this was a successful weekend for him, and with the focus on adding different pieces, he and that Chatfield team are going to be able to make noise this year.     Gus was one of the biggest standouts from the Spring as he was confident in each setting we've seen him, the ball found him, and he looked to score on each catch, which led to some big games. But at the UNC camp, it took him a bit longer to start looking like himself before he got into his groove. Gus has excellent size, he's skilled for a wing as a ballhandler and playmaker, and even more, he can shoot the 3-ball, which puts him in the upper echelon of players in the state. Gus is a 6'5 do-it-all player for Fairview that they give the green light to, and he has to play with that same swagger we see from him during the club season. Gus will have to continue to get more physical and explosive, and control tempo against those quicker athletes. He can control tempo and not be denied from getting where he wants, and I think with moments like this, it will only make him better. We certainly saw those plays that make him one of the top prospects in his class; we just want to see them consistently get pieced together.

UNC Team Camp gave another opportunity to see some of the state's top prospects before the high school season arrives, and while the talent was obvious, what stood out most was how different the next challenge will be for this group. These are players who have already proven they can impact games, fill stat sheets, and help teams win. The question now isn't whether they can play, it's what happens when the spotlight gets even brighter. Several of these prospects are stepping into larger roles, taking on more responsibility, and becoming the players opposing teams will build scouting reports around. We saw flashes of that throughout the weekend in Greeley. The athleticism is there. The production is there. Now comes the adjustment of becoming the guy every night. Based on what we saw at UNC, these are five prospects carrying mountain-high expectations into the upcoming season and five players I'm fascinated to watch as their games continue to evolve.